


The Light Goes Out for the Night

by Anna_tation



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - After College/University, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Dex has feels, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, Future Fic, Gen, Husbands, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, M/M, Married Couple, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-17 14:26:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18100322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anna_tation/pseuds/Anna_tation
Summary: Dex explodes, Nursey Chills, just a self indulgent fic. You know what you're reading it for.





	The Light Goes Out for the Night

William Joseph Poindexter frowns. His husband was supposed to be here more than twenty minutes ago. 

Tapping his fingers on the polished surface of the dark wood table, he impatiently gazes around the quietly bustling cafe. The green awning he sits under in the outside seating section keeps the worst of the Autumn sun's heat away, but it's still hot enough to want a cold drink. Dex has one in front of him right now The ice is completely melted. 

William sighs and briefly thinks about texting his husband again. It isn't that he's worried, he's just annoyed. Sure, Derek Nurse is bad with staying on time, but usually he would have responded by now. 

Will lets his fingers drum a more frantic rhythm into the table top at that thought. 

With a small creak from the legs of the chair, Dex stands. He digs into his wallet with a quick hand and puts roughly the amount for the drink on the table. He needs to get out of here. 

Fiddling with one of the buttons on his blue 'business casual' shirt, William makes his way back through the little cafe to the exit. 

Just as he reaches the door, it's suddenly yanked open. 

"The f-!" William steps back in surprise.

"Oh excuse me" The man in front of him says, not looking up, trying to get past. 

William huffs in indignation. "DEREK."

The man looks up. 

From the roots of his dark curly hair to the sharp edge of his jawline he begins to blush.

Derek straightens up and smiles happily, going in to kiss his husband. "Will! I was so worried I missed you!"

William pushes past him, through the green door of the cafe. Without a glance backwards, he begins to walk home. Honestly screw work at this point, Will thinks hotly. 

Behind him he can hear a confused "William?"

Dex walks faster, face burning. The soft tap of shoes follow behind him.

"Will?" 

He does not stop. 

"Baby, please, talk to me. I know I messed up, can we please talk?"

William stops with a huff of breath and turns to face him.

For a second he just looks. A messy mop of hair crowns a panicked face. Warm brown eyes are crinkled with worry and confusion. He's shivering slightly in the sudden autumnal afternoon chill. Derek is surprisingly dressed in what Dex privately refers to as his Sadboy Poet Clothes, a pair of grey slacks and a cozy black turtleneck. 

"So you were at a reading?" Dex asks dryly. 

Derek looks confused for a second. "What? No I-"

"Honestly, save it Derek." William interrupts caustically, crossing his arms over his chest as he glares at him. "I should have known it was too much to expect you to keep the time for lunch."

"Dex, PLEASE-" Derek starts again, apology forming on his lips and hand reaching out for his. 

"No!" William takes a sharp, angry step back, out of reach. 

People passing on the sidewalk are starting to give them looks. This isn't Boston where people would get involved but even in New York people are still drawn to noise. 

"You always fucking do this! Do you remember our last anniversary?" Dex continues angrily. 

Nurse stands there, just looking at him weakly, arms by his side. 

"And our dinner with my parents. And the party with your sister! YOUR sister Derek!"

"William" Derek says quietly. 

Dex feels something drip on his hand. 

"WHAT?"

Another drip on his hand. Rain, Dex thinks wildly. 

He raises a hand to his face. Tears are streaming off his chin. He didn't realize he ever started crying. Will just stares down at his wet fingers in shock, like he bled all over them instead of crying. 

Suddenly very tired, Dex sits down abruptly on the stairs of one of the nearest brownstone that lines the small street. He puts his head in his hands and closes his eyes. 

He just needs silence. He just needs to think. He needs... He needs... 

It's completely quiet, except for the ambient noises of the street. 

He feels a body sit gently down next to him. It shifts for a moment before going still and silent.

"I didn't know you felt this way about me being late sometimes." Derek finally says quietly. 

Dex lets out what he won't admit is a dry sob. Now that it's over he's completely embarrassed about the entire outburst of emotion. He buries his eyes harder into the muscle of his forearm. 

"S'fine" he mutters from his elbows. 

"No, it obviously isn't" Derek says to Will from somewhere outside the circle of darkness that is his safe arm smush place. 

Derek scoots a little closer, voice gentle. "This is something we need to talk about. When did this start?"

William reluctantly picks his head up from the safety of his arms and turns to look with red eyes at his husband. He takes in the worried lines of his eyes and the tightness of his hands as he grips his knees. Sniffing, he wipes his eyes on The sleeve of what used to be his best business casual shirt. He suddenly feels so, so tired and exposed. 

"l don't want to talk about this here"

"Okay," Derek says encouragingly, standing upand reaching out for William. "Let's go home."

 

Derek Malik Nurse is an observant man. He can name the particular feeling shining in the eyes of a civil rights protester. He knows how to describe it so it feels like the fire that lies in every reader's heart. He notices people and imagery and feelings and patterns. He likes to think he knows his husband pretty well. 

But he has no idea where this is coming from. 

It scares him. 

Yeah, they argue, its part of who they are together. They both like the stimulation and color it brings to their lives. They prefer it to calm and quiet relationships.

The problem, Derek thinks as he pushes open the door to their apartment, is this feels like something else. 

They both shuffle inside, peeling off layers of clothes. Autumn in New York means you prepare to freeze and burn all in one day. 

When they're finished Derek turns to face his husband. He looks him over with a calm but descriminating eye.

What he sees worries him. 

William looks completely worn out. His cheeks are pale but at the same time way too flushed. The dark circles under his eyes look even deeper than usual. He's trembling a little. 

Will crosses his arms and rolls his eyes as his husband looks him over, but there's no real bite to it. 

Even that worries Derek somehow. 

"Well," he says resolutely, clapping his hands together. "We definitely need to continue our talk but first I think you need a drink."

"Derek I'm not going to DRINK at TWO in the-"

Nurse flashes a cheeky smile and throws his hands up in mock surrender as he walks backwards into the kitchen. "Chill, Will. I meant tea!"

Dex huffs a quiet, indignant breath and follows him in.

Derek putters around their small kitchen for a while, pulling out boxes and placing their tiny red teapot on a burner. 

William simply watches from where he's leaning against the counter. He isn't hungry anymore, but something warm sounds good.

Before Will can blink again, he's sitting on their couch wrapped in a blanket with a softly steaming cup of dried honey peach tea (courtesy of Bitty) warming his hands. 

Derek flutters behind him, adjusting the blanket a bit before finally sitting down with his own cup of tea. 

He takes a quick sip and then stares down Will until he laughs a bit and sips his own. 

"It's good" William says after he drinks about half and Nursey has stopped glaring at him. 

Derek leans back into the couch. "Alright" he says. "Let's start this off. What's going on?"

He watches Williams face become far away. His eyes begin to get duller. 

"Baby?"

William turns to look at him with a look on his face that is simultaneously mutinous and fragile. 

"I talked to my brother today"

Oh.

And there it is. 

Derek puts both of their tea aside and pulls William's unresisting form into his arms. 

Of all of the reactions of Will's family after he introduced them to Derek, his brother was the worst. 

Jacob Poindexter had not shouted or yellef when he met Derek. He simply said goodbye to Will and drove away from the family home. He hadn'tt returned until Will and Derek drove back up to Samwell a week later.

Neither man had heard from him in years. He hadn't even replied to the wedding invitation they sent him. William had cried over that for a while with Derek holding him and rubbing his back. It was a long time until he felt okay to move forward again.

Occasionally, Will's mom or dad would relay news about Jacob when they and Will skyped on Saturdays. It with sad eyes and a strained smile that either parent would hesitantly mention his new job, apartment or engagement. Both William's mom and dad had long since accepted their gay son. They just couldn't stop loving either of them. 

Overall, William hadn't had contact with his brother for almost six years. 

Until now, apparently.

So Derek takes a deep breath before continuing. 

"What did he say?"

William is quiet in his arms for a little bit, just breathing and staring out into space. 

Derek adjusts a bit while he's waiting so that his arm isn't so squished by Will's boney side. 

"He wants to see me" Will says finally. 

"That's great!" Derek says, running a hand through the his messy orange hair. "But?"

"But..." William continues, looking conflicted. 

Derek waits. It's hard enough for Dex to talk about his feelings. He won't blow this by speaking too soon and making him bolt for emotional cover again. 

William looks up into Derek's eyes for a moment before burying his face in his husband's shirt. 

His words are muffled. 

"I don't want to see him"

Derek rubs the back of Will's neck soothingly. 

"That's okay love."

Will looks up wild eyed at his husband. 

"No it ISN'T. He's my brother, he's my family! I can't hate him!" 

And Will is crying again. 

Derek wipes tears out of his husband's eyes as he sobs. Will burys his face back in Derek's shirt. 

Derek sighs quietly. Its times like this he wishes he had at least a sliver of frame of reference for his husband's experiences. He hates he can't relate to the kind of pain his love is experiencing. But there's nothing he can do about that. 

So he just rubs his back and waits until Will's sobs fade to hiccups. 

As he begins to calm down and the tension flows out of his shoulders, Derek speaks. 

"Here, shove up, I want to spoon you" 

Dex laughs roughly and says in a water-logged voice "carry me to the bed?"

So Derek does. 

Once they're situated, Derek speaks again. 

"Whatever you decide to do, I'll support you. You know that." Derek curls his arms a little tighter around the thinner man. "But in all honesty, I think you're right"

Will starts at that. "What?" He croaks. "But he's my brother!"

"Yeah" Derek says. He pushes his face into the messy mop of orange hair and breathes in deeply. "Look how even the idea of it affected you though. I can see you weren't okay. You were shaking. You got angry. You snapped at people."

Will makes a little apologetic noise. Derek pokes him in the stomach.

"And I forgive you for that. But I don't like how even the idea of seeing him affects you. There's nothing wrong with waiting."

William scoots around in his arms and slides one hand onto Derek's side. 

"I just" he starts lamely, eyes flittering from Derek's eyes to anywhere but him. "I feel like if I don't go now.... I'll never want to."

"That's just fine. It's fine if you never want to see him. You're allowed that. But babe, you have no idea how you'll feel in the future. You might not want to, you might want to next week. Just... Don't push yourself with this." He finishes, searching the eyes of the man in front of him.

Will moves his hand up to cup his husband's face and just looks into Derek's eyes for a bit. Messages of love and support pass between them without a word spoken. They're both silent for a while as they just hold each other. 

Eventually Will speaks.

"I'll wait for a bit. Talk to my mom about it tomorrow. Right now I think I need some time."

Derek moves forward and kisses the tip of his nose. 

Will smiles with warmth for the first time since they got home. 

"I'll do whatever you need me to do" Derek says. And he means it. 

Will smiles again and grabs Derek's hand. 

"Thanks baby. I love you."

"I love you too"

And the light goes out for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Ajsbwnjanaja blease. 
> 
> Boys. 
> 
> Written for the 2019 Bittys Valentine's event


End file.
